If you enjoy reading Brussels Playbook, please share it with your colleagues and friends.

HOW THINGS CHANGE: A little more than a century ago, Donald Trump’s grandfather pleaded for the right to stay in Germany after authorities expelled him for skipping compulsory military service, a newly revealed letter shows. h/t Zeke Turner

QUOTES DU JOUR— EU ON THE DEFENSE…

“The president will not quit,” said a Commission spokesperson, replying to reports that Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker would quit if Martin Schulz is not re-elected as president of the Parliament.

**A message from the EPP Group: “EU accession negotiations with Turkey must be frozen immediately,” insists our Chairman Manfred Weber. He thinks the EU should be pursuing an alternative plan. His demand will be supported by a European Parliament resolution to be voted on Thursday.**

COMMISSION — REVISING COMMISSIONERS’ CODE OF CONDUCT: As promised in his 2016 State of the Union speech, Juncker will present a new draft code of conduct to his colleagues today, with two key elements, according to two Commission sources.

No temporary resignation needed: In the past, Commissioners wanting to run in European elections had to step down during the course of the campaign. Now there will be no temporary resignation needed if running for election.

Longer cooling-off period: Following backlash over the circumstances surrounding former Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes new jobs, Juncker will seek to extend the compulsory cooling off period for Commission presidents seeking new paid work from 18 months to three years. Commissioners will be advised, but not compelled, to also wait three years before taking on other roles.

Analysis — The practical and political problems will pile up quickly: The proposed new rules complicate the code of conduct without resolving its core problems. Firstly, a three-year cooling-off period favors older Commissioners and Presidents who may benefit from a full salary when they would otherwise be less likely to work full-time, a kind of mega-pension, while younger Commissioners will be kept out of employment at the height of their careers.

Secondly, if the principle of a longer wait is important, critics will ask why it isn’t compulsory for all. And then, of course, there is the inconsistency: Shouldn’t transition payments to Commissioners stop when their cooling-off period ends? Currently, they can receive “transition payments” from the Commission for 18 months after their compulsory cooling-off period ends.

A view from the European Parliament:it’s not about the waiting period, it’s about judgment: “Barroso respected the waiting period, but if you then pick Goldman Sachs as your new employer, it doesn’t really matter.”

COMMISSION — DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENTS: A Commission communication on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be released today, more than a year after the global adoption of the goals. Expect also an updated EU Consensus on Development (due to the post-2015 world) and a batch of Eurostat figures detailing how much work the EU has to do to meet the 2030 goals.

NGO pre-emptive statement: The NGO umbrella group Concord Group has published this letter to EU leaders criticizing the plan to be announced today.

Europe’s migration efforts pivot to Africa: Having reduced the number of crossings from Turkey to Greece, European leaders are now looking to northern Africa, reports Zia Weise from Tunisia.

COMMISSION — OETTINGER-WATCH …

No news this week on Paks II nuclear state aid decision, according to a Commission source. Worth noting: The previous Paks II infringement case, which was quietly dropped by the Commission last week, was handled by the Commission’s single market department, not its competition department.

Juncker struggles to fill Oettinger’s digital role: Chris Spillane reports that Commissioner Carlos Moedas has rebuffed efforts to enlist him in the digital role, insisting that he wants to complete his research and innovation portfolio work. More details and candidates here.

More heat on Juncker over Oettinger: Xavier Vidal-Folch, president of the World Editors Forum, criticized Juncker’s handling of the case in a strongly-worded El Pais column. European Parliament Liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt gave Juncker a tongue-lashing in a written statement. “In most governments a minister who openly made racist remarks would already have resigned. In Oettinger’s case, there is also the question if he has acted against the ethical rules of the Commission,” Verhofstadt wrote. “The reputation of the European Commission and the European Union itself are at risk. If Juncker decides that Oettinger will take over the budget portfolio, he will face a very critical Parliament. All doubts should be cleared in advance.”

ESM — REGLING CLAIMS EURO HAS NEVER BEEN STRONGER: Klaus Regling who runs the European Stability Mechanism said in a speech Monday that the euro area has come out of the crisis “much stronger than before” and that “no major new reforms are needed.”

The view from the Berlaymont: “They created a fire department to deal with the risks of a drought. It hasn’t ended the drought,” one economic official quipped.

Playbook hears: If Regling changes his mind about the need for major reforms to eurozone governance, there’s someone ready to help. An entire team in the Commission’s economic and financial affairs department (DG ECFIN) was created to prepare a White Paper on deepening the economic and monetary union. Since the Bratislava Summit in September crushed those dreams, they don’t have much to do these days, according to Playbook’s source.

PARLIAMENT — FIDESZ MEP WATCH: Data analysis from VoteWatch Europe shows when Fidesz MEPs are willing to defy they party leader Viktor Orbán in the European Parliament – and when they are willing to defy their party group the EPP instead. Infographic here.

COUNCIL — FIND OUT WHAT COUNCIL OFFICIALS ARE READING: The institution is promoting highlights from think tank publications in a monthly review. Latest issue here.

ECA — AUDITORS PUBLISH 2017 PRIORITIES: The European Court of Auditors intends to publish around 90 reports in 2017, including on energy and climate, the single market, poverty and social exclusion, migration, integration and European security challenges.

COULD PETE HOEKSTRA BE THE NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE EU? Former Spanish MP and MEP Ignasi Guardans thinks so. Hoekstra was born in the Netherlands, and was chair of the Dutch Congressional Council, going on to chair the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee.

CYPRUS PEACE TALKS PAUSED AFTER ‘INCONCLUSIVE’ DISCUSSIONS: After a week of negotiations, including two days of discussions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot presidents, the parties returned home empty-handed. Official United Nations statement here.

FRANCE —François Fillon, Thatcherite with a thing for Russia: Since Sunday night, Playbook’s inbox has been inundated with anecdotes of left-wingers signing up to vote in the Républicain primary in order to block Nicholas Sarkozy … by voting for Fillon. One key to understanding what Fillion’s victory means is to figure out who accounted for the surge in Républicain primary votes.

The voting map shows strong regional differences: Fillon peaked in rural areas and traditional fields of the rural conservatives, Alain Juppé is more for urban voters and moderates voters in the South-West, Sarkozy, meanwhile, was competitive where the Front National will be very high in the presidential bid like Eastern and Northern Region and around the Mediterranean shore.

Fillon’s men in Brussels: Three MEPs sponsored Fillon’s candidacy: Alain Cadec, who chairs the Fisheries committee; Michel Dantin, who leads French center-right efforts on agriculture and Marc Joulaud, a former staffer of the former PM. Most of the French Les Républicains delegation endorsed Fillon’s opponents.

Fillon’s EU policy positions: Fillon is more pro-Russia than Juppé. He wants to create a European Border and Coast Guard (even if it already exist) and pushes for several big on-going dossiers like fiscal harmonization, stronger trade and defense policy and better police and judicial cooperation. Fillon advocates a European governance mostly by European leaders and less Commission powers for eurozone governance. On Brexit, Fillon proposed a “roadmap on the new U.K./EU relationship.” Link here.

BREXIT CORNER … David Davis, the U.K.’s Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, is in Strasbourg today to meet MEPs, including Parliament’s Brexit negotiator Verhofstadt at 9.30 a.m. According to a government spokesperson, Davis wants to “begin the work of ensuring we have a positive, strong and productive relationship with our closest neighbors.”

ITALY — FIVE STAR LEADER TO CALL FOR ELECTIONS IF RENZI LOSES REFERENDUM: “If the No vote wins, I imagine [Prime Minister Matteo] Renzi’s government will no longer exist, and the president will ask the political parties what they want to do,” said Luigi Di Maio, a senior member of the Five Star Movement.

WHAT SLOVAKS ARE TALKING ABOUT — PROCUREMENT AT THE FOREIGN MINISTRY: A young civil servant, who left the Slovak ministry of foreign affairs in early 2016, has written publicly to accuse the government of graft in the way it organized events for the Slovak EU presidency.

Transparency International has taken up the cause. The Slovak government said in written statement in response to the claims: “We firmly reject accusations … The Ministry has nothing to hide” adding: “The former employee is commenting on matters, which she is not fully familiar with due to her lower rank position, which are not related to her previous job description, and which exceed the duration of her work contract.”

ROMANIA — PRIME MINISTER TROLLS SOCIAL DEMOCRAT LEADER: Technocrat Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș rejected suggestions made by Liviu Dragnea, leader of the Social Democrats, that the polls could be rigged in favor of rightwing parties.

BULGARIA — PRESIDENT-ELECT RADEV SAYS NO POLITICAL CRISIS: “There is no place for dramatization,” said former air force general Rumen Radev. “There are two options – either a cabinet will be formed within the framework of the current Parliament or we have to expect the appointment of a caretaker government and snap parliamentary election.”

GREECE — GOVERNMENT DEMANDS IMF ‘STOPS SITTING ON THE FENCE’: With discussions continuing on Greece’s third international bailout, a government spokesman pointed to the IMF’s demands on labor reform as the major sticking point in discussions.

REJECTED EUROPEAN COURT CANDIDATE APPOINTED AS NATIONAL JUDGE: Toni Abela, Malta’s former candidate for the European Court of Auditors, rejected by MEPs over allegations he helped cover up a drug scandal in a Labor party club, was sworn in as a judge. Here he is participating in a TV debate with some hand puppets.

MACEDONIA — ELECTION CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF: Voters go to the polls December 11 in the first elections held since revelations surfaced that former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski had been wiretapping opposition politicians for years. Sinisa Jakov Marusic

RUSSIA — KHODORKOVSKY’S ADVICE: TREAT PUTIN AS A BANDIT. When it comes to relations with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, the former billionaire chief of Yukos Oil has blunt advice for Europe: Wake up — and stop playing nice.

TRUMP WORLD …

The President-elect released a recorded video message Monday evening, in which he outlined several executive actions he plans to take on his first day in office. Read Politico’s story here.

Trump plagued by business conflict questions: It’s not yet clear where the Trump brand ends and the presidency starts, reports Ken Vogel.

Final countdown: “We have one year to make democracy work in Europe. Or else the Trumps take over,” by Belgian writer David Van Reybrouck

ICYMI — President Obama on his worries for the future: In an interview with German public broadcaster ARD and Der Spiegel, he speaks about democracy in the age of Trump, Europe’s future role and a pardon for Edward Snowden.

CLARIFICATION: Playbook yesterday referred to the presence of tanks on the streets of Brussels during the terror lockdown one year ago. In fact, the vehicles deployed across Brussels were armed convoy vehicles, not tanks. h/t Dries Belet

VILLO EXPANDS IN EU QUARTER: More Villo bike stands have been added to the Berlaymont station. A total of 40 (up from 24) now available.

APPOINTED: Tomáš Valášek, Slovakia’s NATO permanent representative since 2013, will become the new director of the Carnegie Europe think tank in April. Jonathan Hill, Juncker’s former speechwriter, is now Director of Communications at GML, the majority owner of Yukos Oil, which was expropriated by the Russian Federation more than a decade ago and continues to fight for compensation. Nikolaus Tacke has been elected as the new EU Committee Chair at the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium. Nikolaus is the Managing Director and Head of Brussels Office of Hering Schuppener Consulting.

**A message from the EPP Group: “We must build our own defense union,” says Michael Gahler MEP, EPP group spokesman on the European Defense Union. The security situation in and around Europe has significantly worsened and risks deteriorating further. No single country or organization is able to face this alone. The outcome of the U.S. presidential elections and recurrent appeals to the U.S. administration to increase burden sharing make the need for building up European defense capabilities even more urgent. Against this backdrop Europe not only has the opportunity but also the responsibility to ensure its own security and to contribute to global stability. Read more about how Michael Gahler thinks Europe should improve its military cooperation.**